Data Files and Working Mobile at the Longest Football Game in NFL History

Note from Mendelson Consulting | Mario Nowogrodzki, CPA/CITP, Founder and Principal: This month, we bring you an article by one of our QuickBooks consultants, Nikki Gomez. The story of the longest game in NFL history and how it related directly to a successful QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions data file repair job.
From the Desk of… Nikki Gomez, Business Technology Consultant, Mendelson Consulting
Mendelson Consulting team members are often assigned projects to make corrections in a client’s QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions data file in preparations of a new file creation. This type of work is normally scheduled on weekends while businesses are closed. The client uploads the file to us, we work on it during the weekend and return the file back to the client before the beginning of business on Monday morning. I started working on the customer’s file the first weekend of September, but was unable to complete the corrections over one weekend. Therefore, I scheduled with the client to continue working on the file the following weekend. But I forgot that weekend = football during this time of year.
My fiancé and I purchase season tickets every year to see the Miami Dolphins football team play at the Hardrock Stadium in Miami Gardens. We are diehard Miami Dolphins fans. We were definitely excited that football season was here. “Fins up, go Miami go!” We had already gone to their preseason game and won against the Atlanta Falcons 34-7.
The season opening game was scheduled for Sunday, September 9th, 2018. This happened to be the same weekend I scheduled myself to continue working on the client’s data file. What was I going to do? I really wanted to go to the season’s first real game, but I needed to get the file completed for return to the client by Monday morning. Of course, I began working on the file as soon as I received it Friday evening. I worked through the night into Saturday morning. I took a nap and continued working on the file all day Saturday into the early morning of Sunday. And just like that, football Sunday had arrived. I was not done with the file.
I was battling with myself on whether I should go to the game or stay home and watch it on TV while I worked. I thought to myself: why can’t I do both? Can’t I work on their file at the stadium during the game? No.. not a great idea, I thought. But I could work on the file in the car on the way to and from the stadium and while tailgating.
I had figured it out! I worked in the car for the hour drive to the parking lot tailgate. While everyone else grilled food and partied in the parking lot, I was sitting on the trunk of my car with cold soda, a hot dog and my laptop, and I worked diligently on the file. Finally, it was game time! Unfortunate that I wasn’t able to bring my laptop into the stadium, but that didn’t matter too much to me because I was ready to take a break and enjoy the game with my fiancé. Little did I know this game would become the longest NFL game in history.
If you’re from Miami, you know the weather can be unpredictable. It can be sunny and hot one minute and feel like a tropical storm is coming through the next. Most days we have sun showers that last minutes and then the humidity kicks in. On this day, the sky was dark and cloudy to the north; the sky lit up with lightning occasionally. To the south the sky was painted a beautiful blue and the sun shined bright through the small clouds. The game-time temperature was 89 degrees, heat index of 99 degrees and a humidity level of 63%. It was hot! My fiancé even joked with me saying, “This is perfect weather. I bet the Tennessee Titans are going to cramp up in this weather and we’ll have the advantage. We’re going to watch them fall like flies today.” As they lined up for a first down in the first quarter of the game right before our quarterback Ryan Tannehill said “Hike!”, thunder roared through the stadium. It gave us chills! “BOOM! The Titans are spooked! Miami weather is no joke! Get ‘em Miami!”, I yelled in the crowd.
The stadium was packed with Dolphins fans and the game was going great. The crowd was cheering and we were in the lead. It was close to halftime when all of a sudden a referee announces that the game will have to be delayed for the time being due to the lightning. “What does that even mean?”, I asked. “We’re in Miami, this is normal weather. How long is this going to take? I have to get back to work.” We weren’t going to just leave. What real fan would do that? There was plenty of time to work later.
We sat in the stadium for almost two hours waiting for the game to start again. It was almost 4 o’clock before the weather delay ended. The crowd cheered as the players returned to the field. However, that excitement was short lived. There was a second weather delay about halfway through the third quarter. “Should we leave?”, my fiancé asked. “No way. We’re in the lead. Let’s just wait it out.”, I said. This time it lasted over 2 hours.
When the second and final weather delay ended, and the players returned to the field, we decided to watch the remainder of the game in the parking lot with our tailgating friends. This way I could get back to work and watch the last bit of the game. The parking lot was bare because many fans left the game during the first delay. There I was, sitting on the trunk of my car with my laptop. As people walked past us they asked what I was doing. “Working.”, I said. One person even yelled, “Put that thing away and celebrate!” The final score was 27-20 for a Dolphins win. What an exciting game and awesome season opening!
This game was interesting to say the least. While we sat in the stands talking to other fans during the delays, we met the mother of running back Dion Lewis, who made his first touchdown with the Titans in the third quarter. She wore her Titans jersey proudly and we even cheered for Lewis along with his mother, giving her a high-five after he scored.
We watched a young boy run onto the field and bolt across it during the second delay. Security and other stadium officials had a hard time catching up to him. We even caught some of it on video.
They honored the late Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School coach, Aaron Feis, who risked his life to protect the students during the mass shooting that happened earlier this year. It brought tears to our eyes as we watched his photo being displayed on the big screen.
We watched a young man propose to his girlfriend across from where we were sitting. We were even on the fan cam for a short second. The stadium rewarded the remaining fans by allowing us to sit in the lower sections for the completion of the game.
But the most exciting part of that day for me was reading the message from the Dolphins that stated, “Titans v. Dolphins – Now the longest game in NFL history, beating Bears v. Ravens 11/17/13 (5 hrs., 16 min.) – Thank you fans for being a part of history!” The game started off as a regular 1:00 o’clock game and soon became a night game ending after 8:00 o’clock. All of the NFL games for that day finished before this game. I was able to work and enjoy watching my team play a great game. We were a part of history that day and it was totally worth it.Nikki GomezMendelson Consulting is the expert on QuickBooks data management, fixing QB file performance issues, and identifying data damage and the best path to remediation.

MARIO NOWOGRODZKI, CPA.CITP

Mario Nowogrodzki, CPA.CITP, is founder and principal of Mendelson Consulting (www.mendelsonconsulting.com), an accounting technology firm that assists entities with planning, selecting and implementing business management systems. The firm was selected as Top Technologist by the Sleeter Group and Top Integrations Advisor by Insightful Accountant. Nowogrodzki is a member of the Florida Institute of CPAs Business Technology Section; a contributing author and speaker for Intuit, Accountex, and the Woodard Group. Contact him at mario@mendelsonconsulting.com or at 954-447-0250.